“The first draft that Christina [Hodson] wrote of Birds Of Prey, the villain was the Penguin,” Robbie said, apparently prompting “visible shock” from her co-star. Robbie, of course, played Harley Quinn in that film, meaning the two definitely would have crossed paths. Apparently upon hearing that Birds Of Prey was playing with The Penguin, however, Reeves decided to intervene. “Matt Reeves said, ‘Don’t use the Penguin. I’m going to use him in my thing,'” Robbie recalled. “And so we swapped it to Black Mask.” Ewan McGregor ended up portraying the classic baddie in the 2020 film.
Hodson’s version of The Penguin was “amazing,” though, Robbie teased. She apparently still has a copy of the script on her computer, which Farrell said he’d like to read because “that’d be so fascinating.” What a fun crossover that probably was for DC fans living in a parallel universe.
While the two characters may not get to interact in this universe, The Penguin, at least, will definitely be back in Reeves’ long-anticipated The Batman: Part II. Harley Quinn’s future is less certain as James Gunn remakes the DCU, though the boss did previously tease that Robbie’s part in it all—if she has one—”will be revealed down the line.” Maybe a Quinn/Penguin face-off is in our future after all.
